Just Let Go
by TallDarkAndHandsome
Summary: Bonnie and Caroline decide to go to the Mystic Falls Annual Fair with Elena. Disinterested and lost in her head, Elena explores the Fair on her own. All she wanted to do was wallow. She didn't expect to be cheered up by a stranger. Busker!Damon AU


**I was volunteering at a Fair to promote a museum. I saw a man who was hella like Damon. My mind wandered. **

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'C'mon Elena, you can at least try to have a little thing called fun!'

Elena snapped out of her haze. Lost in her own head again, Elena cringed as she crashed painfully into reality. Caroline and Bonnie were appraising her concernedly.

The Mystic Falls Annual Fair was a festival of great fanfare. The town square transformed into a colorful riot of talent, smells... and people. Elena had just broken up with Matt yesterday, an inopportune time to be at a fair. She could not be entertained. Therefore, she mindlessly traversed the narrow twisted pathways created by spaces between clusters of families and couples enjoying the small shows.

'I'm having fun, Caroline,' Elena said.

'Yeah right,' Caroline said. 'You have barely spoken to us and you don't look anywhere close to happy. Just forget all your problems and let go for once! You deserve a break from your life.'

Elena wanted to let go. She wanted nothing more right then. The problem was happiness. How can it exist in her heart, already filled with guilt and heartbreak?

'Caroline…'

'Let's give her some space,' Bonnie's calm and resolute voice emerged. Elena and Caroline both turned to look at her; Elena in surprise, Caroline in betrayal.

'What? She clearly needs some alone time,' Bonnie said, glancing cautiously at Elena, eyes verifying if she was right. Elena gave her a small smile and nodded.

'So let's be nice friends,' Bonnie advised Caroline, 'and let her be by herself.'

Caroline fidgeted. 'Okay. Find us when you're done, Elena,' her voice desperate. Elena knew Caroline hated abandoning people, especially her friends. It was one thing guaranteed about Caroline, she'd cheer you up when you are having a bad day.

Elena waved weakly to her friends as they turned their backs and walked away. It was the most she could manage. She couldn't blame them. If there was one thing that everyone hated - it was a partypooper.

It was the fifth anniversary of the Fair and hordes of people chatted, laughed and played. Turning away, she walked past the various acts in the Fair. Elena tried to pay attention but her mind was a mess. She wished she was home, listening to sad songs and getting over breakups like every other normal teenager. However, she doubted Caroline would forgive her for ditching the fair without running the idea by her first.

So, she forced herself to move on. She suppressed all the guilt in her mind, placing it into the deal-with-later folder. As soon as she decided to have fun, the sun hit bright on her face and her vision turned from blurred to focus, from dim to bright, from background to forefront.

A man prowled in a glittery red suit holding two torches in his hand. As Elena watched skeptically, he twirled them in both hands. He twirled them under his legs, under his feet, even behind his back. She lost herself staring into the fire in his hands, missing his grand finale. He ate the fire. Literally. He put the torch in his mouth and put out the fire with his tongue. The air rung with applause and Elena was sincerely amazed.

'Don't try this at home. Go to school and get a degree, kids,' he said finishing off, the parents laughing.

The crowd dispersed. The parents dragged their kids to the food stalls when they ached to play with the hula-hoops. Others simply wandered to chat to the fire guy. Daylight hit the clean pathways, the freshly mowed lawns, creating a serene atmosphere. Elena traced her steps back to the bench, on top of the elevated platform where the band usually played. Tonight however, there was no performance. Elena was alone.

A distant trumpet sound and chanting grabbed her attention. She got up and walked over to the ledge, placed her hands over it and leaned over, looking for the source of the peculiar noise.

A troop of at least ten people, dressed in Spanish outfits, were trailing each other, humming a catchy tune. They paused and people sang to complete the tune.

Elena's smile grew wider. They pretended to be surprised at a young girl and pulled funny faces. The crowd chimed 'aww' as the girl began to giggle.

The man in the front caught Elena's eye. He wore a black tank with a fedora, a plaid shit tied around his waist and dark black jeans. She couldn't see his face since his back was to her but she noticed the defined muscles there. His every movement was graceful and professional.

Elena wondered if some people were born flawless.

The troop passed her. Elena's stomach growled. She checked her pockets and pulled out a 20 dollar bill. She ordered a steaming plate of delicious chicken biryani, muttered 'thanks' to the too busy waiter and sat on the bench opposite to the stall. She began to feel the first glimmers of happiness. Food had that effect.

Slowly she ate, enjoying every bite. She loved how hungry she was, her hunger wiped away every thought in her head. After a few minutes of ravenous chewing, she swallowed the last bite and put the plate down.

A little girl was watching her. She wore a pink frock and a pink tiara.

'What?' Elena hissed, not worried if she was being rude. The girl was no one to judge her for having a huge appetite. She finished the plate and was ready for another one.

The girl scurried away in fright, her mother lifting her up and soothing her to sleep. It was impossible at the loud trumpet of the troop which was inching closer to Elena every second.

Few feet away from her, the troop froze at the last beat. A few seconds of silence and the crowd bruised their palms, clapping. Elena mulled over what they'd done to elicit that applause. The excitement was pissing her off rather than improving her mood.

She began to get up and leave, before she blocked their path. Let the happy people remain happy.

Instantly, a hand covered hers. Elena's world spun, the wind whipping her hair behind her. She pressed into a warm body. A hot breath on her face. Elena's mouth was open and she placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself. She felt hard-ridged muscle under her fingertips, not calming her down at all.

'What-' Elena's world spun again and she protectively leaned closer to the body whose hand held hers. She was scared. She knew the man was dancing with her, leading her in his wild dance.

'Open your eyes,' she heard a husky voice in her ear.

Elena opened her eyes only after she heard the crowd cheering them on. Wild salsa music played in the background. He'd picked her for a dance with an audience member. Elena was expected to play along. She'd never imagine that she would. She wondered where she found the urge to dance in her state of depression. How did unplanned, spontaneous, crazy dancing lift her spirits? Her gaze was trained at where their bodies met and she slowly lifted her head up, trying not to fall.

Just as she rolled her eyes up, he spun her outward, and then rolled her inward, perfectly colliding their bodies in all the right places again when Elena picked the wrong time to look at him.

Contrasting his pale skin, his lips of pink perfection and the shadow of his hat, the two blue eyes glowed. He smirked when she finally looked up, snapping Elena out of her shock. She lost her balance. He swiftly covered it up by making it look intentional. He dipped her until she was just above the ground.

'Hey,' he whispered on her face.

Before Elena could breathe, let alone respond, the godly man lifted her back up and resumed moving his hips against hers. As the crowd cheers increased, some part of Elena knew this was for show. However, she couldn't help moving her hips against his.

Her mind was focused on following him and getting the moves right. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass herself, so she danced her heart away. As the music increased in tempo and volume, his movements got quicker. Elena was sweating in the heat, but so was he. Despite that, they couldn't be further apart on the comfortable scale. The heat and sweat was getting to Elena, as she tried to hold in the panting. Twirling and spinning and stepping, she began to lose energy.

Suddenly, she was pulled close to him. Her cheek rested next to his, his mouth next to her ear. Elena froze.

'Just let go.'

His words uncoiled something in her. Maybe it was three people telling her to do the same thing in less than an hour. It might have been the adrenaline. Whatever it was, Elena matched his enthusiasm. The music reached the apex of the crescendo, and Elena was enjoying herself. Without any warning, he threw her in the air vertically as high as he possibly could.

Elena was glad he told her what he did, or else she'd be screaming right then. Finally free, she threw her head back, enjoying the wind in her hair as she descended into his arms again.

However, he didn't catch her. Elena collided onto him, sending them both crashing to the ground. She immediately pulled herself together and looked up, meeting his eyes.

His fierce stare captured her and they stared at each other, wondering the same thing. Why couldn't he catch her?

Frozen in place, they stared at each other as the crowd roared with applause. Couple of the teenagers were whistling and cat-calling, putting a smile to Elena's face. He grinned a real smile, not the Cheshire Cat one – the one he pulled when her jaw dropped at his face.

Quickly, she pulled herself up and brushed her hair away from her sweaty face with her fingers. The gorgeous man followed her. He grabbed her upper arm. Elena looked at him in surprise. Trailing his fingers down her arm, she did nothing but watch as he got to her hand and touched his soft lips to it. He burned her eyes with his the entire time. Elena marveled at how effortlessly charming he was.

He pulled away from her hand, grinned and kissed her hand again, this time, swiping his tongue.

Elena blushed furiously. No one knew what he did but her, and judging from Damon's face, that was definitely his intention.

'What's your name?' he asked.

'Elena. Elena Gilbert.'

He grabbed her hand and turned to the crowd around him. Turning in a circle, he raised their twined hands in the air and announced, 'Give it up for Elena Gilbert, everybody!'

The crowd cheered and roared, as the troop travelled, gathering money in the hat. Elena wanted to ask something but she chewed over it. She asked him anyway after remembering his tongue on her hand.

'Am I getting some of the money too?'

He turned to her. 'I was the one leading you hon,' he arrogantly beamed. 'You were just following my moves.'

'You didn't do a very good job of leading, did you?' Elena smirked. 'Maybe if you hadn't dropped me…'

Damon raised his eyebrows. His eyes grew colder. 'I'm sorry if I got distracted by how heavy you were!'

Elena laughed. If he thought she'd be that easily offended... 'You dipped me earlier, Damon. You knew exactly how heavy I was. Knowing the professional that you are, you wouldn't have taken the risk if you weren't sure you could catch me,' she said confidently, throwing her arms around him. Elena didn't have an explanation why she wanted to do it. It simply felt right.

He was surprised by her move, but quickly pulled himself together. Leaning closer, he whispered, 'you're right. I just didn't expect how good you'd look above me.'

Elena felt her legs turn to mush. She smiled at him, proving that his words couldn't get to her. He smiled back. It was time to go.

'Well,' she said. 'Thank you for a good time. I needed it.' She spoke with sincerety.

'Anytime,' he replied, holding her hands behind his neck.

Elena leaned up and pressed her lips against his cheek. She walked away, knowing he was completely thrown off by her. She would be completely thrown off by her too.

As she walked away from the troop, Bonnie and Caroline walked towards her.

'Damn Elena, I didn't know you had moves in you!' Caroline exclaimed. Elena blushed.

'Yeah, where did that come from?' Bonnie asked. 'I am talking about the dancing as well as the flirting, of course' she smiled, giving her a knowing look.

Elena gave her a come-on look. 'I just broke up with Matt. You guys were right. I just needed to let go.'

Caroline simply stared at her, impressed. 'If that is your way of letting go, man we should give you as much alone time as possible. Who knows what other talents you've got deep down?'

Elena laughed. 'Let's go home. Thanks for bringing me here guys.'

'Told you it'd be good,' Caroline giggled, throwing her arm around Elena and Bonnie. 'I still can't believe you got Mr. Moves to dance with you though.'

Elena turned to her with narrowed eyes. 'Caroline. You know he decided to dance with me. I couldn't exactly push him away with the crowd watching, now could I?'

Caroline's expressions remained the same. 'So… you decided to grind your hips because you "couldn't exactly push him away?"' Caroline air-quoted. This time, Bonnie peered at Elena too.

'Fine! Okay, I was listening to you. I was "letting go",' Elena air-quoted back, 'you should be happy for me. Isn't that what you wanted me to do all night?'

'We're happy for you Elena,' Bonnie said, smiling.

'We are,' Caroline spoke. 'I just hope you two hook up sometime. I know everyone in the crowd wanted it to happen.'

'What?' Elena almost yelled.

Caroline smiled at her reaction. 'You two look so good together!' she squealed. 'But now that I think about it, he definitely had a bad-boy feel to him. I don't know if that's your type.'

Elena speculated. Was her type the good guy? The hero? Or was she done with guys like that? Was she craving a senseless and wild night?

She hoped not.

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